Okay, so one person of my flist is into this podcast but I just listened to the latest episode and I need to write about it because BECAUSE.

Okay, I'm a sucker for flashback episodes and origin storylines so I was thrilled that we got to hear a little bit of 15 year old Cecil via an old cassette tape adult Cecil unearthed. But of course it all goes tremendously creepy from there.

I'd always found Night Vale to be creepy but in a friendly, cozy sort of way. This was the first one that made me question how I was going to get any sleep tonight because it is the sort of thing that will give me NIGHTMARES. Old cassette recordings, flickering images, missing family members, covered up mirrors AAAAHHH!!

But we learned some interesting facts. The biggest one for me was that Cecil's full name is Cecil Gershwin Palmer. Eh. I'm a little annoyed with the Palmer since it seems like an obvious homage to Twin Peaks but it's a small point. Cecil also had a brother (!!!) and both the brother and his mother disappeared shortly after Cecil began interning at the radio station. That's right. Cecil was an intern. Who survived. Or did he? Adult Cecil has zero memories of making this tape or any of the events the 15 year old Cecil talks about. This includes having a brother. The episode ends with him destroying the tape but clearly freaked out. Which makes all of us who just listened to this podcast.

There's some wild speculations going on right now that Kevin of Desert Bluffs is Cecil's brother. But oddly my head canon suddenly became that Kevin is actually this 15 year old Cecil we just listened to and the Cecil we've been hearing this entire time is a clone. Original Cecil was a little too free thinking so Station Management gave him over to StrexCorp who truly brainwashed him and gave him a whole new identity and made him Kevin of Desert Bluffs. Meanwhile Station Management created a new person that they named Cecil and placed at the Night Vale radio station. Yes, that's a lot of head canon for such few information but this is what the Night Vale podcast does to people. But along with the head canon, I have many, many more questions:

1. What happened to Cecil's mother and brother? Mainly his mother. Where is she? What the hell was he becoming that she hid from him? Cecil seemed to take her hiding as a good, happy thing. Is that standard Night Vale stuff or was he brainwashed into thinking that?

2. So if all the mirrors at the station are covered...are all the mirrors at Cecil's house also covered? Wouldn't Carlos wonder about that or is the list of things he finds bizarre in this town just too long now? Also, Cecil's mother has warned him about mirrors before. Nice return of that eerie, seemingly throwaway comment.

3. Is the voice of 15 year old Cecil done by Joseph Fink? They sound vaguely alike and 15 year old Cecil didn't get a voice credit.

EDIT: Nope, the voice of 15 year old Cecil was also done by Cecil Baldwin. They just sped it up 5%, according to Joseph Fink to take out all the bass. Awesome! Also, does this mean that to me Fink sounds like a 15 year old boy?

4. WHAT IS HAPPENING? That sums up my entire reaction. WHAT IS HAPPENING?! This podcast didn't have a plot when I first started listening. Now it's like one huge conspiracy theory and I NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING!!